Tadej Pogacar to go head-to-head against Jonas Vingegaard at Paris-Nice but will skip Strade-Bianche
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Updated 21/02/2023 at 19:39 GMT
Two-time Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar has confirmed he will miss Strade-Bianche, so he can compete at Paris-Nice, where the UAE Emirates rider will meet Jonas Vingegaard. Pogacar and Vingegaard have only met once since their epic battle at last year’s Tour de France. Stream the 2023 UAE Tour from February 20-26 and much more of the cycling season live on Eurosport and discovery+.
‘Today was really hard!’ – Pogacar after winning again at Vuelta Andalucia
Tadej Pogacar will miss this year’s Strade-Bianche as he has decided to race in Paris-Nice, meaning he will go head-to-head against Jonas Vingegaard.
It’s the first time the pair have met at a WorldTour stage race since their thrilling battle at last year’s Tour de France, which was won by Vingegaard.
The only occasions they raced each other after the Tour de France was Il Lombardia, where Pogacar was victorious and Vingegaard was 16th.
“It was a hard choice because Strade and Paris-Nice looked like a really interesting challenge but I think this challenge can wait a bit,” Pogacar told Sporza.
“If I want to be really good in Paris-Nice, which I’ve never done before and it’s a super hard race, the team time trial will be important and we need to spend a few days before the race together.
“If I do Strade-Bianche that’s impossible, I’d go to the team time trial without any knowledge of the group and don’t think it’ll work.”
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‘Wow’ – Vingegaard allows Pogacar to catch up after crash in ‘incredible’ gesture
Paris-Nice takes place from March 5-12, live on Eurosport and discovery+, but will not feature defending champion Primoz Roglic, as Vingegaard will lead Jumbo-Visma.
Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) and Simon Yates (Team Jayco AlUla) are among the other big names competing.
After suffering from gastroenteritis, Pogacar had a great seven days last week when he won the Clasica Jaen Paraíso Interior and dominated the Vuelta a Andalucia.
Pogacar confirmed he will race Milan-San Remo on March 29, the Tour of Flanders on April 2 and is expected to compete in the Ardennes Classics later in April.
“From now it’ll only be hard, important races,” the two-time Tour de France champion said.
“I’ll try to be good in the Classics, especially Milan-San Remo and Flanders. And then all eyes are on the Tour.”
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Stream the 2023 UAE Tour from February 20-26 and much more of the cycling season live on Eurosport and discovery+
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